In which I move to Paris, start a new job, quit smoking and become an all round new and shiny person. Or not. But the moving to Paris/new job bit is real.

Sunday, 1 January 2012

New Year's Resolutions

So, New Year's Resolutions, do you make them?

I generally make halfhearted ones, that I know I won't keep. But this year, I'm going to try hard!

I am going to be healthier - January is in the nature of an experiment, with no alcohol, no cigarettes and more vegetables and exercise.

I'm going to dig out my Couch-to-5K podcasts and start working through those again. I'm going to wake up earlier, so I have time to do this before work, which should mean that I sleep earlier and better,

I'm not giving up coffee, ever. But if the above works out well in January, I'm going to phase in a more paleo-type diet in February, with more meat and vegetables, and much less - almost no - dairy and grains. (February has the bonus of being a short month, which will help as experiments go.)

I'm planning to post here more regularly, and also to make regular posts on my jewellery blog. I'd like to take part in a Year of Jewellery type scheme, where you make at least one new piece a week.

I'm also considering a slightly less hectic writing schedule than NaNo, and doing 100k in 100 days. That has the bonus of being long enough to actually produce finished work, and I can work on the various pieces I've got started.

That seems more than enough to be getting on with. What are your New Year's Resolutions? I can't be the only one making them!

4 comments:

Most importantly I have to lose weight. I don't wanna look like a fat american when I am in Paris in April.So...Cut down on or cut out completely alcohol. Empty calories.No fast food.Eat healthier more veg etc.Take the stairsworkout 3-5 times a week.Be more creative.Write more. I have neglected blogs and have finished novels all over the place 1 hour a day doing something creative: write, sketch, or learn a musical instrument.

I am a 28 year old English guy moving to Nice in mid April. I was just wondering if you could answer a couple of questions for me, it would be genuinely appreciated.

-Are there many Brits around my age situated in Nice? Are there certain places that they congregate so integration is reasonably easy?-Do many locals speak English? I am doing my damndest to pick back up the language from school but fear I may be in for a rude awakening upon arrival!

Good luck with your move - with the weather like it is here today, I wish I was moving back! Are you moving for work, or just for fun?

There are more than a few expats in their late twenties/early 30s in and around Nice and Monaco - not all of them are Brits, but they'll mostly be English speaking.

You might want to look at AngloInfo (http://riviera.angloinfo.com/) - they have a meet up section, if I remember rightly, as well as being a generally useful site to find flats, furniture, jobs, more or less anything really.

Many (though not all) of the locals will understand English, particularly in bars and restaurants and places that get a lot of tourist traffic - it's certainly possible to move to Nice without speaking any French (a friend of mine did it), but I'd recommend thinking about taking some refresher lessons if need be - it's much, much easier to get by if you do speak French...

Not least for finding a flat and a job, if these are an issue. AngloInfo has English speaking landlords and jobs specifically for French speakers, but wading through the legendary French bureaucratic system is much, much easier if you speak French. The mairie (town hall) probably run classes for foreigners relatively cheaply, so that's worth looking into once you've settled in a bit.

If you've got a job lined up, meeting people through that will be by far your easiest way to meet people; if not, or they turn out to be horrible people, there are loads of bars in the Old Town in Nice where you can meet people - Cours Salaya has lots, for a start - Ma Nolan's is usually full of English speakers, and most of the staff are anglophone, too. (There's another Ma Nolan's near the port, and probably others around.)

http://www.meetup.com has a few Nice-based groups that you might want to join. Some were more active than others when I was there, but have a look and see if any of them catch your fancy.

Akathor (another bar in Cours Salaya) used to hold English-language stand-up comedy nights - they might still, so if that's something that interests you, drop in and see.

I'll have a think and come back with some more suggestions - my brain's kind of dead this evening - I didn't want you to think I was ignoring your question though!

Hello Nicole,As a former Parisian myself, I appreciated much your blog, it really gives back the feeling of being here! The blog suggests that you have a taste for beauty and also humour for people!I'm conducting a research on how British see French people - interesting isn't it? :) So if you have an opinion (and I'm sure you have) about French, and wish to help me with my thesis, please, tick the answers for my questions. It takes 4 minutes, and is a huge help for me, as British in Paris are not easy to be found :)https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iR3w1hmoUm-yXEvyk6uwq0EpjZ2PJqVHle9k6tRIxQg/viewform